Our Lady of Lourdes de Rigaud (Sanctuaire Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes)

Marian Advocation of Rigaud (Quebec)
Popular devotion (not officially recognized by the Church)

The Sanctuaire Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes de Rigaud, in the region of Montérégie (personally associated with Vaudreuil-Soulanges), emerges - according to general compilations on the Marian shrines of Quebec - in the 19th century as a replica of Lourdes' devotion in France, which quickly spread through Quebec following the apparitions of 1858. Their existence and Marian character are supported by toponymy, by ecclesial guides and by mention in different pastoral resources. However, there is no specific, accessible written source that narrates the foundation: the precise origin (founder, exact year, ecclesiastical decree) does not exist.

Main data

Origin and history

The Sanctuaire Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes de Rigaud, in the region of Montérégie (personally associated with Vaudreuil-Soulanges), emerges - according to general compilations on the Marian shrines of Quebec - in the 19th century as a replica of Lourdes' devotion in France, which quickly spread through Quebec following the apparitions of 1858. Their existence and Marian character are supported by toponymy, by ecclesial guides and by mention in different pastoral resources. However, there is no specific, accessible written source that narrates the foundation: the precise origin (founder, exact year, ecclesiastical decree) does not exist.

The image and the sanctuary

El santuario es un complejo que incluye una iglesia y una gruta mariana en la colina de Rigaud, y figura como «sanctuaire marial» en las guías de peregrinación y de turismo religioso de Quebec. Los detalles concretos de la imagen y de eventuales exvotos no constan en las fuentes accesibles. No consta una coronación canónica de la imagen.

Sponsorship and coronation

At the local level, the Virgin of Lourdes is venerated as a protector of pilgrims and the sick, following the tradition linked to Lourdes in France; however, there is no specific document of the citable sanctuary, so the specific local patronage does not count with precision. There is also no canonical coronation of the image.

Party and devotion

By analogy with the advocation of Lourdes, the main feast is usually on February 11, the memory of Our Lady of Lourdes. However, the date of the Rigaud shrine as the main solemnity is not explicitly stated in the verifiable accessible sources, so that the exact feast is not. The religious tourism guides of Quebec mention the Grutas de Lourdes as places of pilgrimage, prayer for the sick and reception of devotees.

Link to the Rosary

Lourdes' devotion is historically linked to the prayer of the Rosary, and it is highly likely that in Rigaud there will be Marian processions. However, it has not been possible to find a document that explicitly describes for this sanctuary a daily rosary, a Rosary fellowship or other concrete practices, so that the specific link with the Rosary is not in the sources consulted.

Sources: tradition of the sanctuary, diocesan information and Wikipedia in Spanish. The distinction between popular piety and documented ecclesial history is specific to this fact sheet; extraordinary accounts are presented as devotion and not as doctrinal pronunciation.